Jus1Nita

Yes, those pesky potholes.... Learned to avoid the potholes... Eating too fast, drinking before eating, not measuring food, not tracking food, grazing, white foods (carbs), and all the other potholes that will have you flying into a ditch if you try to take them on and just barrel over them. LOL

From my surgery on September 23, 2013 until now has been a long journey, and I have roughly between 30 - 40 more miles to go! The ride has been slow, but I've lost 75 lbs. along the way. Were there bumps and potholes in the road? Yes, lots of them! LOL But, I learned to shift gears to ease over the bumps, and go around the potholes! This journey is not only about losing weight, but more about changing the way I think about food, and as my thinking changed the ride became a lot smoother!

Can someone explain what a bougie is in "Bougie for Dummies" terms. LOL. I've seen many discussions on it and I'm still in the dark.

I saw a bill which stated that a 45 in. stapler was used, I would imagine that constitutes the size of the bougie, even with that I can only eat roughly 2 - 3 ounces. Anything beyond that I feel as though I've eaten two cows! Very uncomfortable, so I don't even push beyond that because I've heard stories of stretching, but then again, I heard stories from people who are several years out and they have stated their restriction is the same as their initial surgery.

Have you searched for anything on VSG revision or failure.

RJ, I can only imagine the lower intake of fat, besides dehydration in my case, has a lot to do with increased dryness. My skin is so dry, I sometimes wonder if I should just oil down with lard. LOL The coconut oil helps though. Nice scent too. Now I smell fruity. LOL

Wow! Did any of you develop the dry skin condition after surgery, or did it exist before surgery. I have one crack that is very bad. It's like an open wound. Going to see a doctor about it. It would be different if my feet were callused, but that is not the case... It's fleshy skin splitting. Sounds disgusting... I know!

I put ice in my Protein drinks to dilute them after I discovered it was the thick texture that made me gag. The icy coldness made it easier, especially since that's the same way I tolerate drinking milk.

Ever since I was a kid, the only way I could drink milk was that it had to be icy cold. I even put ice cubes in my Cereal and milk. Weird... I know! LOL. I also but the Protein Drink with ice in a blender do that it's like a shake. Tastes really good... Like a Frapuccino from Starbucks. LOL

Right after surgery I noticed my skin was very dry, so I took the advice of others and started using coconut oil on my skin to relieve the dryness. Now my feet are cracking... I mean painful open cracks. I looked up symptoms of dehydration, and sure enough the problem I'm having with my feet was listed.

Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, besides drinking more Water to cure the dehydration what did you do to heal the cracking. I am keeping my feet moisturized, but as soon as one crack heals, here comes another.

Not to encourage you not to put forth your full effort to lose the 20 lbs., if that is what is required by your doctor, but there are times that in order to motivate people to meet a loss, there is a chance that the doctor may have requested that you do above the actual number, so that you reach the "real" weight loss which is needed to shrink your liver in order to perform a safe and less complicated surgery! It's called "reverse psychology" or what I like to call.... "tricking the bad behavioral mechanisms that are inherent in us into submission"

For instance, when I need choir members to be at a certain place, at a certain time, and knowing that if I say 2:00, they'll get there at 3:00, I will tell them to be there at 1:00, so they'll be there at 2:00 on time. Do I get belly aching and whining about "why do we have to be there at 1:00, the event doesn't start until 3:00" Yes, but guess what, they never fail to get there on time, because some "people" generally have a built-in behavioral mechanism to be late. So for the half-steppers, I trick their "behavioral mechanisms" into being on time by requiring them to show up earlier than the actual scheduled time.

I say all this to say.... it's not all gloom and doom, and you're not a complete failure! Continue on the mandated plan, and lose as much as possible and keep in mind that if you don't stick to it, it will delay the surgery even further. You just never know, 20 lbs. may not be attainable or even the "true" amount that you actually need lose, but if you stick to it and loss as much as possible, you may find that you actually lost the "real" about weight needed, even if it's less than 20 lbs., to perform a safe and less complicated surgery because the liver will have decreased to the actual desired size. The point and encouragement here is to lose as much as possible, so that if the doctor does require 20 lbs. you won't have that far to go!

Keep up the good work, and remember to STAY BEAUTIFUL by remaining positive in your thinking and in your words.... and your actions are guaranteed to follow!

At 213, I'm still in the 18 - 20 size. It all depends on body shape. I am apple shaped, big stomach, big butt, small extremities, so to say I look like a walking egg is an understatement. LOL So while the scale is going down, my appearance isn't. As someone above stated, the fat can be between organs, and with the majority of my fat being in my abdomen area, the explanation given by her "brother the doctor" appears to be on par as to why I'm losing at the scale, but not in appearance.

I'm OK with that because I'd rather lose the fat between organs which heightens heart attacks, first, and patiently wait on the surface fat to dissipate! If my appearance never changes, which I don't believe that would be the case, but if it doesn't, and that's a strong "IF", I would much rather it be fat lose from between my organs. At 35 lbs down, I see a slight difference, but upon first glance, I couldn't really tell, and boy.... when I sent the photo to my mom, I further deflated when she said she thought they were the same photo.

Then she tries to clear it up by saying, well... you put the "before" pic to the right, and normally, it should be to the left. Whatever, Mother! Two deflations in one day was more than enough for you to suck my morale, so I have had to encourage myself to pick my face back up. Anyway, I digress.... all in all, the key is to keep at it, be patient, and speak positive affirmations daily, sometimes more than once of day in order to counteract negative thoughts, or negative statements from others. WE CAN DO THIS, AND WE WILL!!!

KEEP THE FAITH AND MOST OF ALL.... THINK BEAUTIFUL!

Thanks everyone! When I was going for my orientation, the material they gave us stated we would lose 1 - 2 lbs. a week with the sleeve. I know everyone's average is different, but were any of you told what the average lose per week would be?

OOPS! Didn't realize I posted this twice! Don't know how to delete or even if it allows me to delete! PLEASE IGNORE!

Ugh! Whenever I talk to mother I have to go through 21-Questions, as if I'm some little kid about what I'm eating, how much weight are you averaging a week, are you exercising, how much and for how long, what are you eating, how much, are you drinking enough Water, and blah, blah, blah!

After I answer her 21-questions.... this morning's criticism session consisted of her telling me that if I'm only averaging 1-2 lbs a week this soon post-op, I must be doing something wrong because my sister, who had RNY by the way, lost waaayyyyy more than that, and it's been one year, and she still loses more than you are averaging in one week.

I told her when I had my 30-day check-up that the doctor stated the 25 lbs I had lost was comparable to an RNY patient, she commences to telling me doctors will tell you anything, and that is not the same as a by-pass because they want to make you think you made the right choice because your sister lost more with RNY. Then she says, "if you were only going to lose 1-2 lbs a week, you could have just stayed with Weight Watchers.

Thanks for the Morale Buster, Mother! Ugh. *tears*

Cue for me is that I start to burp or hiccup, but then again those are my two signals when I'm hungry! Once my stomach is empty, I start burping like crazy! I mean, longgg drawn out burps... Irritating and embarrassing at the same time. Seriously thinking about changing my name to "Burpy". LOL

Last straw for me was standing in the dressing room at Lane Bryant trying to find something to wear on a "first-date" and instead of looking young, sexy, and appealing, I looked like someone's 5 ft. 2in. grandmother in a printed sundress with a cropped knit cardigan because there was not way in the world I was letting these fat arms see sunlight.

There I stood, short and stout in a printed sundress and cardigan, which took all the sexiness out of the dress. I looked hideous.... I have small legs and a huge mid-section, so the dress stood out like a tent instead of hugging my legs to create a sexy look. The dress was so wide on the bottom, and it dragged the floor because Lane Bryant's clothes are cut for tall, large-framed women.

I threw off the dress, and stormed out of Lane Bryant that day, cancelled the date, because there was no way I was going out with this handsome, totally fine 6-1 Adonis, looking like some old short, fat church-lady. I went home sat at the computer and scheduled myself for the next seminar at L.A. Bariatric in Marina Del Rey, CA.

Within 3 months, I was sleeved. My entire process went like clock-work, and seemed to take on a life on its own. Because I had no medical issues, I was concerned that it would not be approved. But the insurance company approved it on the first letter. But working in the fashion apparel field where appearance is a priority, my job probably purchased the best bariatric plan because everyone on my job is getting WLS, which is why no one scoffs at it, and we talk freely about it. :-)

I eventually had my first-date, and to my surprise, he was totally supportive of my decision, even though he preferred that I just do a supervised nutrition plan, and when I told him I do well on those plans but I could never get past 30 lbs, and its back in the other direction. My "first-date" and I are still going strong, and I am 5 lbs. past my 30 lb. turnaround. For the first time, I got past 30 lbs. and I am so thankful for the decision I made to feel better about myself.

I'm 2 weeks out today recently started getting dizzy spells. If I turn my head, when I get up, move to quickly, etc...anyone else have this problem? Know why or what causes it? Going to doc for my 2week check up tomorrow hope to get answers. On the up side I ATE food today went to taco bell with the family and ate half an order of pintos and cheese and it was yummy

Whewww... it was only beans! LOL I read "Taco Bell" and my eyes got as big as saucers thinking you were eating burritos and tacos. LOL Yes, refried Beans were a friend of mine 3 weeks post-op. Recently discovered they are high in carbs, so I cut back.

What helps me to abstain from all the bad foods is staying away from discussions about food! This thread makes me very hungry so I've been trying to figure out how to stop it from sending notices to my email. LOL. How do I "Unsubscribe" from this thread and constant talk about food! HELP! LOL Yay! Figured out how to "Unfollow" You all enjoy your day!

I had my sleeve done 5 days ago but I don't think it's worked. I don't feel sore or overly full when I eat, I'm 2 days out of hospital and can carry on my home duties as normal. I've been eating like I should but feel as if I could eat more, like more solid stuff. Is this normal? I'm grateful for a quick recovery but it's almost feeling too easy. I keep thinking they haven't cut enough out lol and yes I know that sound soooo stupid. Did anyone else feel like this?

Your story is my story to the "T". I actually called my doctor and asked how much did he remove, and wanted to speak to anyone who was in the OR and witnessed the surgery because I didn't feel as though the doctor removed anything.

From the first day of surgery, I was up out of bed flying around the hospital. In fact, the nurses had to keep up with me. LOL I drove myself to the hospital and my sister and mom came the day of surgery and stayed overnight nearby so that I can be driven home. Well I was in no pain so on the day of discharge since I was not on pain meds, I drove myself home while my sister rode as a passenger. LOL

What I learned is that the "full feeling" everyone talks about after they've eaten two bites does not hit you until the nerves in your sleeve heal.

Now, that I am two months out, I am uncomfortably full after about 2 - 3 ozs. of solids like dense Protein. I can get up to 4 ozs. of soft foods and feel full. Before the nerves healed, it was business as usual... I felt hungry all the time and never felt full. I remember getting frustrated because I was so hungry. I was like... What happened to the "since the portion of your stomach that produces ghrelin which triggers hunger is removed, you will feel less hungry". Well, I found out that it takes a while for the body to rid itself of the ghrelin after surgery! Again, now that it's been 2-months post-op, I can go forever before realizing that I haven't eaten because I don't get hungry.

Ok, now that I've written an entire book here, LOL I say all that to say, give it time, stick to your post-op diet, even though you feel you can eat solids, your sleeve is still healing and the nerves are repairing themselves. Once the nerves are repaired you will begin to feel full just from looking at food! LOL

Be careful, it takes your brain a little longer to catch up, and you'll find yourself fixing a plate with your normal portions and only eating two or three bites. When the time comes that you are back to eating solids, use a small salad plate instead of a large dinner plate, and measure your food. The plates I have were humongous, so I went and purchased smaller plates.

So many honeymooners have replied to this thread, mostly honeymooners actually, fascinating.

I generally believe people are smart! They know themselves and they know their body, they know what they can and cannot do, which has assisted them in making the choice to have WLS!

Whether honeymooner or not to WLS, many here have a long history of dieting battles, and what I see from all the posts and everyone's story that has been shared, is just that... a sharing of "their" individual story and what works or doesn't work for them.

Technically, if we want to give credibility to our advice, suggestions, and encouragement based upon seniority, I would pretty much say we are all veterans in our own right because we have struggled for years with the battle of obesity.

This is a place where we "share" our stories, and if it helps someone, great! There is an old saying, "Eat the meat and spit out the bones". In other words, we use what we can glean, and cast aside what is not for us". No offense, no foul if someone else's story or suggestion is not the same as ours.

If I could remain a honeymooner for life... All the better because that means my attitude remains uplifted, optimistic, vibrant, new, fresh, and zealous on this journey, instead of becoming an old grumpy, condescending vet that has it all together!

Have a lovely day ladies and gents, and remember.... STAY BEAUTIFUL!!!

The one thing you have to remember with ecigs is that it still contains nicotine. During your pre-op labs they test for nicotine, because it is the nicotine that constricts the blood vessels. Now there are ecigs that are zero or very low nicotine like 5mg. I think they are called Squares or something like that. Since you have been 6 months nicotine-free, I wouldn't put the nicotine back. Try finding e-cigs that are 0mg nicotine.